Local businesses have a thirst for the talent at Niagara College's teaching brewery.

A custom-made beer created by students is now on tap at Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse at the Hilton Hotel and Suites.

After the restaurant had difficulty locating suppliers of Brazilian beers in Ontario, they turned to Niagara College to develop a 'chopp' beer.

Brasa Chopp has been on the menu at the Fallsview Boulevard restaurant for the past three weeks.

"It's a great product that's made exclusively for us and our customers love it," said Steven Bamforth, the restaurant's general manager.

The contract also offered a unique learning opportunity for students as they've gained experience in brewing a beer for a specific market, said Jon Downing, the college's brewmaster.

"Students learn about beers in different countries and how brewing occurs, as well as how to make their own interpretations of these beers beyond the traditional British and German standards," he said.

Downing researched the nuances of Brazilian beer to develop the recipe for Brasa Chopp.

"We made on test batch and everyone loved it so we immediately brewed a full batch," he said.

Brazil is the world's fourth largest market for beer with over 88 million barrels produced in 2010. The beer is typically light-coloured with a slightly higher-than-average alcohol content.

"I'm really happy with how it turned out," said student Gordon Vale.

"We're just starting out as brewers and we're already making some pretty good products."

The brewery, Canada's only fully-licensed teaching brewery, opened last April and students have already earned some prestigious awards.

Earlier this month, three Niagara College beers won medals at the 2011 United States Open Beer Championships in Georgia.

Niagara students are also behind a new, distinctly Canadian beer.

Canadian National Wheat Beer includes at least one ingredient from every Canadian province and territory - from British Columbia honey malt to berries from Newfoundland.

Water from Niagara Falls is among its Ontario ingredients.

The beer will be available for sampling during the CNE in Toronto which opens Friday.

Brasa Chopp and Canadian National Wheat Beer are also available at the brewery's retail store at Niagara College's Niagara-on-the-Lake campus.